Blackwood (OPEN)

[The 11th Doctor]

Torchwood One, Canary Wharf, Sub-level 6, 5 years before The Battle of Canary Wharf

_____________________

Yvonne Hartman sat in her plush office at Torchwood One. Her mahogany desk was cluttered with papers. She had recently been appointed director of Torchwood, and was taking her new job full-on. But none of her primary training had prepared her for this. At approximately 6:00 Eastern Time, They had received a transmission from UNIT.

Apparently, they had picked up more than 50 alien hostiles heading towards Earth at an alarming rate. They were armed to the teeth with weapons. And as plan A: The Doctor, was nowhere to be seen, that left them with one frighteningly clear choice.

Blackwood.

A top secret plan devised by UNIT and Torchwood in Earth's hour of need, Blackwood was an alliance of the two. Even the most grizzled leaders had thought of it as a last resort. But The Doctor was gone. And Blackwood was born. Yvonne signed the approval sheets and handed them to her aide.

For better or for worse, UNIT and Torchwood were allies.

_____________________________

The Sontaran Flagship Marauder

"Sontar-Ha! Sontar-Ha! Sontar-Ha!" The sounds of the Sontaran battle cry echoed through the large warship. The Sontarans stood, pounding their fists into the palms of their hands. Commander Flugg of the Fifth Sontaran Battle Fleet stood at attention, looking out over his rows of chanting warriors. Suddenly, a voice came from right next to him, startling the Commander.

"Why do you keep such a use-less practice?"

The Commander looked at the...thing next to him. Even the Sontarans, brave warrior race they were, feared the ancient legends. Of skies filled with monsters of hate, destruction, and death. Of Daleks. The Commander gazed into the eye stalk of the Dalek Supreme Emperor, Kah.

They had come at the Sontaran's weakest hour. Their clone worlds were burning, their attempts to subjugate Earth had failed. And as the Rutan Host lay poised to strike the winning blow in the millennia-long war, the Dalek forces arrived through Time and Space. Even though they too were weakened, once they joined with the Sontarans, the Rutan Host was pushed back. An alliance of sorts was formed, and the First Dalek-Sontaran Army set out for the Sol System.

Commander Flugg found it hard to work alongside these...things. The did not revel in the glory of war, nor did they find joy in dying. They just...killed. Flugg shuddered. He gazed at Kah.

"Tell me something, Dalek, if you are the Emperor, why do you keep a simple travel machine, instead of a larger one?"

"A Son-ta-ran like you should understand. It is so that I may fight alongside the Daleks in battle. You see, I have a goal.I will be the one to strike the fin-ish-ing blow, Com-man-der Flugg. I will be the one to ex-ter-min-ate the Doctor!! When he comes rushing to save his pre-cious Earth, he will die!!!"

[The Phantom]

Maria grinned excitedly as she ran around her TARDIS console, pressing certain buttons, spinning different wheels, holding onto part of it as her ship bucked through the Time Vortex. She had managed, with Riocard's help of course, to get her TARDIS back into working shape. Even the monitor was working for once, well apart from the static that appeared every so often.

"Hey Rio? Could you pull down tha-" She was interupted by the sharp lurching move the ship made, causing Maria's stomach to hit the side of the console. She flinched as she slowly got the air back inside her body, then continued, sounding a bit out of breathe. "Could you pull down that red lever please?"

She was already having a hard time keeping her balance and flying the ship. However, dispite the bumpy ride, she couldn't help but feel so happy that her TARDIS was travelling through time and space again.

[Rio Keâts]

He really wished his father could see him now. Riocard was completely at ease on the rocky TARDIS; he’d been on a boat during some pretty harsh weather. He’d expected a slightly bumpier ride – considering they were rocketing into space so fast they were going into different time periods – but the (relatively) smooth rides were a welcome shock. “Hey, Rio?” Maria called, capturing his attention. He stood up quickly, saluting her with a large grin on his face.

“Could you pull down tha—” she paused when the ship lurched. Rio walked closer to the console, bouncing on his feet happily as he awaited orders. “Could you pull down that red lever please?” she asked.

Bright green scanned the TARDIS quickly, searching for the said lever. He found it and pulled it towards him sharply. He leaned against the console, watching the Phantom carefully. “Am I allowed to ask where we’re headed, or this is a surprise?” he asked, looking towards the monitor.

[The Phantom]

After Rio pulled the lever the TARDIS seemed to slowly calm down into a smoother ride. "Am I allowed to ask where we're headed, or is this a surprise?"

Maria smiled happily at him as she replied. "Well it's somewhat of a surprise, mainly because I really don't know where or when we're headed." She grinned widely as she grew even more excited. "I set her on random."

She fell down against the floor as the TARDIS landed a bit roughly. As she quickly jumpped back up onto her feet, she began laughing. Thankful that they hadn't crashed, or worse... fell out of the vortex.

"Well that was fun. Wasn't it?" Maria asked in amusement as her eyes met Rio's.

[The Second Doctor]

Torchwood had a secret. Of course, apprehending the Doctor was evidently their greatest goal, as Rex was now told. But they were Torchwood, the alien people. They were a team of talented people out to keep aliens a secret. And they, most of all, were a menagerie.

It was accident prone, Matheson knew as he pounded down the steps. But when aliens were in the sky, and everyone needed the disguise. And sure as heck, this was his. Rex walked down the corridor, walking by cell after cell. He felt a wave of fear hit him as he saw it: the Dalek. They had caught it during the invasion, and managed to trap it. So he was going to use the travel machine.

Most people assumed that Daleks were robotic organisms, though they were in fact organisms inside robotic machines. They had discovered this upon further investigation. These suits were invincible- he would need that.

Finding the Dalek, Rex's hand drifted to the machine in his pocket. Luckily Torchwood had found a way to disable the Dalek weapons. Otherwise, you might as well call him 'fried Rex.' Slowly, he opened the door and crept through. The Dalek turned it's eye-stalk towards him.
"You-are the e-ne-my! You will be ex-ter-min-ated!" the Dalek chanted monotonously.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I don't think so." Rex said, slamming the machine from his pocket onto the Dalek.

"Aaah!" he Dalek yelled, as the inside of the Dalek was electrocuted.

"Not so invincible on the inside." Rex smirked.
The Dalek opened up, and tube smell made the Torchwood member wrinkle his nose. He regrettably had to remove the alien from the suit...with his hands. The octopus thing stuck to his hands, which he shook until it came off. As soon he finished this he climbed in the travel machine, which was surprisingly comfortable, if a bit snug, he realized as it closed.

There were many controls, and he sure used them. Firing the laser at the nearest reflective surface to destroy his little weapon, he had full control.

He was ready to help save the world.

[The 11th Doctor]

Blackwood Headquarters, The Valiant, Level 4, Area 9-B
_________________________________

The UNIT headquarters aboard the Valiant had been remodeled into a temporary headquarters for Blackwood. Yvonne Hartman stood by one of the large glass widows, looking out at a partial view of Africa. She looked on for a few more seconds before turning around to look at the room behind her. The large computer room was bustling with UNIT and Torchwood soldiers alike. Instead of showing a view of alien incursions around the world, the three-dimensional map showed a view of the incoming aliens, along with an expected arrival date.

4:00

Four hours till the end of the world. Four hours till hell on Earth. Four hours for Blackwood to do everything they could to make sure the world didn't come to an end. Yvonne clenched her fists. Suddenly, something showed up on the radar.

Something very, very faint, heading towards the Earth at a thousand miles an hour, something their radar could barely pick up. The one thing it had been made to pick up. Something that represented only one thing. A little dot heading towards Earth. A little blue, box-shaped dot.

The Doctor. The Doctor was coming.

Yvonne turned, but he was already there. Delta 5 gazed at her.

"No."

"But he's here, we have no reason to keep Blackwood-"

"Time. Travel. Do you hear me? We've picked him up before, and he hasn't even landed within forty years of us. Blackwood stays, and that's a final. The merger papers have already been signed by the U.N"

Yvonne scowled, and pushed past Delta Five.

_______________________

"Hang on!!"

The Doctor grabbed the TARDIS console as it turned upside down. A second later, the ship turned vertically, and he was smashed into the console. He couldn't see Amy, but he knew something was wrong with the TARDIS. "Maybe it was that last trip to 1985. Bad year for TARDISes. And pumpkins. Either that or..."

"AGGH!" The Doctor screamed as the cloister bell rang through his head. Again and again, the sound of the cloister bell. "Amy!! Amy, can you hear me?" Just then, the TARDIS shifted, and he lost his grip on the Ion Manipulator. "Geronimo!!!"

The Doctor fell through the TARDIS, and through the open doors. He managed to grab one on his way out. Hanging onto the TARDIS door, dangling out into time and space, the Doctor did the only sensible thing.

He let go.

[Amy's understudy! Not Amy now.]

Out of 1985 and on their way to anywhere. There was always a thrill in this moment, where anything could happen next, but for now all they need to is ride the TARDIS together. All possibilities open. It was a serious rush. She flashed a smile over at the Doctor and saw his face as wild as her own with it. Then his face changed fast.

"Hold on!" he said, but she didn't. She'd always wondered what she would do if the TARDIS decided to flip upside down on them. In a breathless moment, she'd swung around to wind up on the underside of the control panel, laying atop it and feeling quite smug. A second later, the whole place seemed to tip on its side and her legs swung around as her floor became a wall. She grabbed on of the many support struts with both arms, and managed to land her feet on a third.

She could seem the Doctor hanging off some metal bit of the control console through the little holes in the floor.

"Maybe it was that last trip to 1985. Bad year for TARDISes. And pumpkins. Either that or..."The Doctor was saying nearby when suddenly, horribly, his words broke off and he screamed. It was not a sound she was likely to soon forget.

"Doctor! What's wrong! I'm comin'!" She shouted to him, bracing herself to climb around to the other side of the floor. Then she slid down until her knee was well hooked in a strut and she could curl around to the top side-
"Amy!! Amy, can you hear me?"
"I'm here! I'm alright, Doctor I'm comin' Doctor, can't you hear me?!" She said, pulling herself around now. Luck was with her for the TARDIS rocked hard again, neatly dropping her into the unexpected safety of the stairwell as her grip slipped.
The Doctor fell past her.
"Geronimo!!!"
"Doctor!" She hadn't even had time to reach for him.
He was clinging to the TARDIS door. Then he was gone.
The TARDIS had stopped bucking, but it was still sideways.
"Doctor" She whispered as she started to tremble.

[Rio Keâts]

“Well, it’s somewhat of a surprise, mainly because I really don’t know where or when we’re headed,” the Time Lady said, offering a grin towards the Frenchman. Riocard returned it brightly, perching himself on a rail and pulling out a chocolate bar he’d sniffed out from the TARDIS kitchen, chewing on it thoughtfully. “I set her on random.”

He laughed. “Can’t go wrong with that,” he said, an eager glint in his eyes. He wrapped his legs around the rail and held tightly, remaining in place as the TARDIS landed roughly. He unlatched himself from the railing, sliding lazily back to the floor, the chocolate still dangling from his mouth as he dusted himself off. He was going to over to Maria and help her up, but the excitable Time Lady was back on her feet almost as quickly as she’d gone down and laughing about it. He chuckled, her enthusiasm rubbing off on his already optimistic demeanour.

“Well that was fun. Wasn’t it?”

He met her eyes solemnly, forcing his smile back into a straight line. “No,” he said sombrely, his lips quirking up at the edge despite his attempts to look serious. He bounded over to the doors and allowed himself to grin the suppressed happiness. “But this is. Come on, come on,” he insisted, opening the doors and bouncing out into the area around them.[/font]

[The Phantom]

Maria pouted when she heard Rio say that it the traveling wasn't fun. However she immediately started laughing when she heard what he said next.

"But this is. Come on, come on."

She then watched as he opened the doors and bounced outside. "You know normally I would check for the conditions outside.." Maria started as she followed him outside, scanning the area as she did so. "Hold on... This is Earth... This wasn't what I meant by random. I meant a different planet at least."

She sighed before giving a slight shrug and grinning. "Alright then, let's see what's going on around here." Maria ran ahead and waited for Rio to catch up. "Come on Rio! Let's Explore."

[Rio Keâts]

“You know, normally I would check for the conditions outside,” she told him. Riocard quirked an eyebrow at her logical behaviour. He wouldn’t have even thought about it, and silently thanked whatever deity was looking out for him that he hadn’t been sucked into some sort of weird black hole. “Hold on… this is Earth… this wasn’t what I meant by random. I meant a different planet at least.”

Riocard looked around them. It appeared as though they hadn’t even gone out of Europe. “No matter. Earth can be just as interesting, yes?” he said enthusiastically. He put his hands in his pockets, stepping beside her cheerfully.

“Alright then,” the Time Lady said. Riocard turned his gaze back to her, finishing his chocolate languidly and putting the wrapper inside his pocket. “Let’s see what’s going on around here.”

The Frenchmen raised his other eyebrow, opening his mouth to ask a series of questions. Shouldn’t they be careful? What year was it – his future or his past? He watched as she ran away, and his eyebrows dropped into place, his lower lip coming out. “And just what do you think you’re doing?” he grumbled, hurrying after the little pixie Time Lady.

“Come on, Rio! Let’s Explore,” she cheered.

He rolled his eyes as he jogged next to her, bouncing in place. “After this, we should go to France, yeah?” he chimed nonchalantly. “1983 was a good year. Oh, and the beginning of August was excellent. I’d say we should visit around the second or the third. Cap-d’Ail was a good little town,” he mused thoughtfully.

He turned around, walking backwards so he could continue rambling while facing Maria. “Or, you know, you could ignore that entirely. Is your randomizer really random or did the TARDIS have a reason for bringing us here?” he asked curiously, flipping over to attempt to walk on his hands. Failing miserably after a few steps, he tumbled in a mess of limbs. “Gross. Grass in my mouth,” he said distastefully, picking himself up and wiping the dirt off his clothes.

[The Phantom]

"France. Sounds good, I've never been to France. Great idea Rio." Maria smiled at him, only to giggle when he tumbled over from trying to walk on his hands. "Well I'm not entirely sure, she goes all whanky during certain time periods, however she could have just wanted an easy trip. You alright?"

Suddenly something caught the young Timelord's eye, something she had never seen before. "Hey Rio, let's go check that out over there." Her curiousity was growing as she made her way over to the object.

Maria noted that the moving object in question looked like a metel pepper pod, and seemed to have a plunger for one arm and a circular metel rod for the other. It also seemed to have an eyestock that glowed in the center.

Walking up behind the strange creature, she tapped it on it's head three times, as if knocking. "Hellooo... Anyone in there, alien-like or non-earth-like?"

[Rio Keâts]

Riocard beamed triumphantly as she told him that France was good. His eyebrows slightly rose at the fact that Maria had never been to France before. Wasn’t it one of the most popular tourist destinations for Earth? Why would aliens even go to Earth? Surely not for the clean air, clean water, or technology. Or for the humans. He was about to ask her why she even bothered with Earth and why aliens seemed oddly fascinated with the planet, when her attention was recaptured. He grinned and reminded himself to ask her the question later.

“Hey Rio, let’s go check that out over there!” she told him, running after some weird… alien thing. He stopped next to it, tilting his head warily. Memories of something and somewhen threatened the horizon of his mind, but he wasn’t able to call upon them. But the thing in front of him was familiar. And he remembered that he had not – in any way – been a fan of said thing.

“Don’t get too close to that thing,” Rio told her , grabbing her arms and pulling her away from the metal rod arm. “It’s… bad. I think,” he muttered, letting her go sheepishly. He nearly hit his forehead with his palm when she began to touch it, grumbling rapidly under his breath to show his displeasure.

He stepped next to her, keeping a wary eye on the creature.

ooc| I hope she’s doing that to Rex and not a real Dalek. XD

[/font]

[Rex Matheson]

Rex was hardly enjoying his new toy. It was obvious that the Dalek Travel Machine was not built for comfort. But it worked well and he thought he was getting the hang of it. Until someone had the nerve to start tapping on the top. It echoed through Machine and gave him a horrible headache.

He turned the Dalek machine, an act that reminded him of skating a 180, and saw a girl, who had been tapping on the machine, and a man with the greenest eyes he'd ever seen, shockingly so.
"Oi, quit with the tappin', will ya?" he said, he voice garbled in that Dalek way, which sounded strange in a British way.

The machine split into four parts, the left and right bottom sides, and the left and right top sides. Rex stepped out and offered them each a handshake.
"Well 'ello there, love. I'm promoting a...new type of cereal...bowl." he lied.

Despite the fact that Earth was near-attacked, he could just hand out information to the first couple that came by... Even of his excuses were lame and made no sense.
"So, boiy Dalek...flakes."

[The Phantom]

"Oh come on Rio, what's so dangerous about the metel po-" Maria stopped abrutly when the metel creature talked! Jumping back when it turned to look at her. "Sorry for the Tapping."

She watched in awe as the creature split in four parts and out stepped a young man. He offered his hand for her and Rio to shake.

"Well, 'ello there, love. I'm promoting a... new type of cereal... bowl." He said, "So, boiy Dalek... flakes."

"What are boiy Dalek flakes?" Maria asked as she shook his hand. She never heard of them and she was fairly certian that he was lying. "Actually a better question would be what were you riding in? That is most deffiantly not Earth technology."

She walked past him and started to examine the machine. "Hey Rio look at this technology, it's pretty cool. However it's a bit advanced for Earth, I mean you've got a laser.." Maria looked at the place for the pilot. "your hightech species scanner... Hold on."

"This is from another planet, and you seem human enough." Maria suddenly looked at the strange man, shock was apparent on her face. "You stole this didn't you?!"

[Rio Keâts]

“Oi, quit with the tappin’, will ya?” the thing shrieked. Rio nearly jumped out of his skin, jumping several meters backwards and hissing angrily at the thing. For a moment, before he gained his composure, he looked feral. He stood up shakily as the Dalek began to split apart, brushing the dirt off himself once more. He relaxed a little more as the man inside of the Dalek extended his hand towards him. He wrapped his hands around the man’s hand, shaking enthusiastically.

“I thought you were gonna kill me!” he said cheerfully, all grievances against the salesperson forgotten. He was the very definition of bubbly again. “My name is Rio! What’s yours?”

He was about to delve into a full-blown ramble about how he thought Dalek Flakes were probably the most brilliant and delicious thing ever invented – not that he’s ever had them, of course, but the advertising was brilliant, save for a bit scary – when Maria interrupted him. “Hey Rio look at this technology, it’s pretty cool. However it’s a bit advanced for Earth, I mean you’ve got a laser… your high-tech species scanner… hold on.”

Riocard looked at the technology, trying to seem as though he understood what he was staring at. “I agree. Very advanced,” he nodded, tapping his chin thoughtfully.

“This is from another planet, and you seem human enough. You stole this didn’t you?!” she demanded.

“Stole it from whom? And why?” Riocard mused, locking his eyes fiercely on the man-who-probably-wasn’t-a-salesperson in front of him. The glare quickly subsided and he smiled pleasantly. “Tell us please?” he asked warmly.[/font]